#the tallest ninten you will ever see

[mewunderthetruck]

THE NINTEN IS REAL

[wrightanatomyau]

Weird uncle

When growing up, Ninten always thought that his uncle Giegue was a little bit odd, and even further from that, that he was even a wizard.

He vaguely remembered things, but it might had started when he first saw him as a child: his sisters were soon to be born, and that would mean Ninten was going to be a big brother that had to protect them, but he worried not as he was now a big five years-old boy who feared nothing, not even his mom's surprise guests.

He was waltzing down the stairs with his trusty companion — his penguin plushie — when he noticed his mama at the front door, with her, a strange, thin, unbelievably tall man with hair red as the velvety carnations that bloomed at the garden...

Of course, for a child that was yet to explore the world that basically anything he had ever known was within the walls of his very house, that was just odd, and when his dear mama called him ...

"Ninten, sweetie, come greet your uncle Giegue!".

Ninten had no filter whatsoever about it.

The infant waddled up to his mama with wobbly legs and a penguin plushie bigger than himself at his stubby arms, and standing before the redhead stranger, his lips separated into a wide grin.

"You're so weird!", the child giggled and had he not been so amused about this stranger's peculiar red hair and over the top clothes, he would have noticed that his mama's face had drained of all color.

As Carol gasped and her spirit left her body along her lungs’ air, it was caught mid-way as that who belonged to her spouse's family tree squatted before light-heartedly placing his dandy fedora to her son's stuffed toy, and with a confident smile, told the child:

"You have no idea".

Of course, that had been before his sisters were born and little Ninten realised that red was a completely natural hair colour to have even if somewhat an oddity, but he had the active imagination of a child and rationalizing was not something that kids did that well.

Ever since their dad put little Ninten in charge of being the man of the house as he would have to go, weird uncle Gygy — as Ninten have started to call him — began been around a lot more, and though the “more” of “never” was “rarely ever”, these moments did count.

“Child, get down from there”, weird uncle said calmly as Ninten very sneakily tried to climb up the tree that the old man was leaning into while reading a book about things the child wouldn’t care nor understand yet.

Of course, little Ninten heard not, he was young, dumb, and thought that being a big boy meant he could do whatever he wanted like climbing up the tallest tree alive! — inside his garden, of course! —.

“You will fall and get hurt”, Giegue warned, though parting not his eyes from his book, not even when the rustle of leaves and branches were heard and said dumb child fell from the tree only to be caught from a possibly ugly fall by his unamused uncle.

“Well, well, what did I tell you?”, asked the old man with a raised brow as he kept the child suspended in air by the strips of his overalls and was looked dead on by eyes sharp as daggers.

“That I’d fall and get hurt”, the tiny boy replied to his uncle’s question with a trembling lip while, despite his very big — actually tiny — cuts, he held back tears as he was a big boy now and big boys did not cry, but then…

“And what happened?”, uncle asked a little more demandingly.

“I fell and got hurt!”, little Ninten cried anyhow as many other adults — but lawyers — would probably break too under such crushing pressure!

As the child cried his eyes out, the responsible adult put him down on the safety of the short grass, and after what felt like an eternity of crying…

"Where did you get hurt?", uncle Gygy asked, sitting down before little Ninten.

The child whimpered and sniffed, but eventually calmed down enough to talk.

“Here!”, he pointed at his arm, and old uncle hummed.

“Ah, yes, I can see it, you’re bleeding…”

“Ah?!”

“Yes, I fear it is mortal”, he nodded.

“Wha-?!”, the child cried louder though he didn’t even know what “mortal” meant, but it seemed serious.

Again, his uncle nodded. “Yes, yes, you will bleed out and die”.

“I don’t wanna die!” — That was not a good thing! —. “Not even band aids can save me?!”, he asked since a band aid and a kiss was what his mama would usually do when he got hurt.

“No”, replied his uncle.

Ninten cried louder, very unlike to a big boy, but not very unlike a big boy that was going to die. Or at least until uncle Gygy sighed, and extending his hand towards him, he spoke.

“Allow me to see that scratch again, child”, he requested, and though not so glad and tears yet in his eyes, Ninten heeded the order.

His tiny arm was taken into his uncle’s palm and with the other hand, uncle Gygy took a handkerchief; the clothe tissue was merely hovered over Ninten’s skin, and by the time it was taken back into the pocket it had come from, his skin was completely clear!

No gash, no blood, he looked perfectly fine!

Ninten gasped as he looked around his arm.

“There”, said his uncle, letting go of his grand nephew.

“Unkie Gygy, are you a wizard?!”, the tiny child asked awestruck since his uncle had made the gash straight up disappear.

“No, I am a doctor”.

“Woah!”, Ninten gasped. “THEN same thing!”

“What-?”  — Giegue made a face — “No-…”

“YES!”, little Ninten insisted. “Doctors are wizards that cure your body!”, he explained and that’s when Giegue realized: he was not about to fight with a child and lose, thus, it was best to humour him.

“Ah, I see my deceit was of no consequence for you. Yes, my dear nephew. Indeed, I am a wizard that cures the body” — “confessed” his uncle — “Alas, my magical proficiency must remain a secret between the two of us", he added with the index to his mouth in shushing gesture.

“Not even mama can know?”

“Not even mama”.

Ninten opened his mouth as to talk, but ultimately, closed it right back and made across his lips a zipping motion to sign his mouth would remain closed before “locking” it and throwing “the key” away.

“Good boy”, Giegue patted his head, and Ninten beamed at him before springing up.

“Can I still get a penguin band aid, though?”, he asked, practically jumping on place.

“That your mother shall tell”.

“Can you go with me to tell mama?”, the child offered his hand, and after some consideration…

The old man sighed in defeat. “Very well…”, he said, standing up himself, and Ninten smiled wider because a “very” well was better than a normal well!

Taking the child’s hand into his, both were to meet with the young boy’s mother.

Yes, perhaps little Ninten could have been quite mixed up about what a doctor truly was, but even then, he could tell that there was something different about his uncle than with all the other professionals of the health field…

Cough

Cough

He recalled one winter morning waking up feeling sick.

“It is just a cold”, Ninten recalled hearing weird uncle Gygy telling mom. “He shall be fine”.

Ninten had always been a sickly child, but it didn’t stop Carol from worrying nonetheless.

“Yes- Yes, I’m sorry for worrying so much… It's just that since my husband left-…” — she stopped — “Well… Maybe I’m worrying too much…”.

“There is never such a thing as a mother worrying too much for her child, Carol”, uncle relieved. “However, I must implore you to take a well-deserved rest, you work more than enough looking after the twins, so allow me to look after Ninten”.

Ninten couldn’t recall much of what they said after as he had closed his eyes just a bit to rest them and everything had gone hazy; by the time he next opened his eyes...

“You slept for a long while”, Ninten heard his uncle’s voice.

Cough.

Yet drowsy, uncle Giegue helped him sit up and even went as far as taking the courtesy to fix his pillow for him.

“How are you feeling, child?”

But Ninten did not reply, until…

“I miss my dad”, he said.

“That is not what I mean-…”

“When is papa coming back?”, he interrupted.

Weird uncle, too, remained silent for a bit.

“I am unsure”, was his answer, and Ninten fell silent yet again.

He was not surprised that he had gotten sick, truthfully, it was completely understandable to him… It was winter, this always happened year after year, and with even more reason since he had been a mischievous, naughty child, and not only had he stayed awake until late, but had he been standing right in front of the open window, waiting…

It wouldn’t be long until holidays, and papa had not returned yet.

And suddenly, as uncle Giegue had read his mind, he made little Ninten a question…

“Do you miss your father, Ninten…?”

“Mhm…”, he hummed, bringing his legs closer to himself, and felt his eyes close again; he was too tired, too sick, and especially? too sad, though perhaps he couldn’t pout and sulk all day, especially not when a tiny, little light passed through the corner of his eye.

“Huh?”, Ninten murmured as he let go of his legs to sit up properly, and when he did, there were a bunch of tiny little green sparkles all around the room!

“What’s that?!”, the child asked, awestruck.

"I am as puzzled as you are", replied his uncle in his usual calm demeanour. "Maybe they are the northern lights, it is quite cold outside after all".

"Oooo, North lights!", Ninten cooed right before poking one and getting blinded by an explosion of light that made him cross his eyes.

"Woah!", he mouthed upon soon recovery, though his uncle didn't seem so pleased.

"Maybe do not attempt that again…", uncle told him, quite worried as he pulled his tiny little hands away from the green, glowing orbs.

Though after a long day of being sick and playing with the tiny lights, as Ninten laid on his big boy bed, he did find something odd...

Was that actually normal? It wasn't quite that cold, and it had never happened before in any other winter but this one.

With uncle Gygy.

A wizard.

Could he be more than a bodily wizard?

Filled with curiosity, little adventurous Ninten decided to get out from his big boy bed despite it being past his sleepy time, and very sneakily, tip-toe downstairs to the study room where his uncle often stayed whenever he crashed in for a visit.

Carefully, Ninten neared the door, and saw blue and green sparkles coming from underneath the frame, and quiet as a mouse, the child dared to creak it open just the right amount to peer inside...

There was his uncle.

And indeed, lights flashed before him! That had to mean that he really was a more special super magical wizard than normal doctors!...

Except that then, Ninten noticed, he was casting no cool spells that turned people into frogs nor made them fly. And there were some... Particularly vaguely familiar voices...

Ninten noticed... His uncle was just watching his mama’s soap opera on a mini-TV.

"Child, I did not see you there", said uncle despite turning almost as he had been expecting him. "Is it not past your bedtime?"

"Why were you watching mama's novella?" — instead practicing cool magic to turn people into worms! —.

"Well, Ninten, your mama has been working arduously, it is to be expected that she is tired; thus, I took the bother to watch her so-called novella, so she will not miss a single detail", weird uncle explained.

“Family is very important, child… We never must give our backs to it, did you know?”, he asked and…

As he had grown so accustomed to say, Ninten giggled.

“Of course I know!”, he beamed. “You’re so weird!”

And uncle responded:

“Well, you are not so behind yourself, little worm!”.

“Am I a worm?!”, Ninten gasped.

“With how squirmish you are? You must”

Ninten laughed and ran to where his weird uncle was.

“Can you teach me how to magic so I can turn back human?”, he excitedly asked.

“Impossible, that implies you were human once”, uncle replied, pulling him up to his lap. “Well, well-! Someone is gaining pounds!”

“Yes! I’m a big boy now!”, uncle was informed.

“Of course, how could I had been so blind?”

“I can even read now!”, Ninten told him and turned to uncle’s Gygy’s desk where some books laid. “Look, there says Human traf… king?” — he tried to read before uncle put the books away, stopping the child from any further reading —.

“I think that might be enough reading for today”, uncle stood up with Ninten on arms. “It is quite late after all”.

“But I-!”

“No”, uncle Gygy said and then memories got quite hazy…

However, Ninten was sure that there was nothing to worry about, back then he was quite young, and it had been years since then, and it was normal forgetting things that happened years ago…

Perhaps he couldn’t remember all the little details of why, as a child, he thought that uncle Giegue was sometimes pretty odd — to say the least —, and maybe he hadn’t changed much on the following years, though Ninten could be sure about something: his uncle had been quite an inspiration for him to become a doctor, and if that meant being weird, Ninten was more than glad to follow his steps, and be that weird wizard that helped tiny sickly children to feel better like how once he had been.  - ✨B✨